She is an Alumna of NID-Ahmedabad. Having completed her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the department of fine arts, Stella Maris College, Chennai. She went on to pursue a post graduate diploma course in textile design from NID Ahmedabad. She started off her career in 2011 as the senior designer in a leading export house in Bangalore and then went on to work as an independent textile designer in the field of home textiles, fashion/apparel, costume and styling. Elizabeth is a textile enthusiast and her keen interest towards design education has urged her to take up teaching. She has been teaching different design modules to students at NIFT-chennai for more than 5 years. She is currently the Dean Academics & a faculty of textile design at DOT school of design.
Yoganand VP is a Car & Transportation designer from Milan, Italy. After his post-graduation from Domus Academy in Milan, he worked with multiple international design firms including FIAT, Pininfarina, BTS - Design Innovation srl, FCA-Canada, Landini SpA and more. Yogi expanded his design strength into Industrial, Interior & Graphic Design in the early days of his career. He worked as a Deputy Manager - Product Development in TI Cycles of India, bringing over 100 products to the Indian bicycle market successfully through brands like BSA, Ladybird, Hercules, Roadeo & Montra. Yogi was also part of the Advance-Design team innovating various industry-first creative concepts. He has also designed various brand identities such as the logo design for TATA International’s bicycle division - “STRYDER”. On his passion towards business, Yogi pursued his MBA in International Business Management. Yoganand is the Founder & Design Head at Nix Dizains LLP, a multifunctional design studio in south India. Yoganand spreaded his dominance to become a successful entrepreneur having various businesses in the various fields of Design, Food & restaurant, constructions and more.
Having a proven track record in project management roles, combined with demonstrated design experience, Yoganand has worked towards continuous business growth through design. With strong interpersonal & teaching skills, he has the ability to motivate & drive students to mold them into world-class designers.
Geetika Juyal Chatterjee is a contemporary artist. She is an alumnus of the M S University of Baroda, where she pursued her master in printmaking, after her bachelor degree from the Delhi College of art in painting. She also pursued a master in Film & Video Communication from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and worked in the film industry in Mumbai & Bangalore.
Geetika expresses her love and gratitude for the creation with her work. Her work explores geometrical abstraction as a language representing the creative pattern of the universe. She is a student of Sacred Geometry and was granted a research fellowship by the government of India. Her research titled ‘ The Inherent Logic in Aesthetics’ is her life long pursuit. She has been a visiting faculty at NID, Kurukshetra and participated in various exhibitions & art residencies in India.
A practicing artist constantly exploring visual language. Which involves art practice along with responding to happenings. Being an alumnus of the M S University of Baroda, where she pursued a Master in Museology. Previously holding Bachelors in painting from College of Fine Arts, Bengaluru. In her works, she re-establishes and reiterates the aspect of this innate ability to create as a feminine quality. Central to the work process and the subjects she visualizes is the notion of feminine identity. She has received a scholarship from the Government of India and Karnataka. Besides, she has been consistently participating in exhibitions, art residencies and collaborating on art projects.
Ajay is a Visual artist, based in chennai. Completed his bachelor’s degree from Government college of Fine Art, Chennai in 2010. He started his career as an Illustrator for a Children’s publishing house ad then he worked as a Senior Graphic Designer in a leading Advertising Agency based in chennai. Later, he went to pursue his Post graduation in visual communication from College of Art, New Delhi.
In 2016, he started his teaching career as an Assistant Professor for Visual communication Department in College of Art, New Delhi. He was teaching Illustration, Graphic Design and Animation as major subjects for more than 5 years. Apart from teaching he is working on a Graphic Novel, his personal project. He is currently an Associate Faculty in the Fine Art Department at DOT School of Design.
With a BFA in Painting from Govt. College of Fine Arts, Chennai in 1996, and MFA in Painting from Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.University, Baroda, in 2001, Aparajithan lives and breathes art.
A selection of his Group exhibitions from 1998 through to 2022 has to include 2022 ‘“Human Form and Art” curated by Mr. Reddappa Naidu, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Similarities and Dissimilarities” Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai ‘Space, Body, Land and Senses’, curated by Ebenezer Singh, Sarala Art Gallery, Chennai ‘Swipe South’, Rosebud Contemporary, New York ‘Curiouser and Curiouser’, Karupu Art Collective in collaboration with Art Chennai ‘The Lisp of Children’, Karupu Art Collective, Chennai “Fathers and Sons”, Singh and Thapar Projects, New Delhi Painting Exhibition, Faraway Tree Art Gallery, Chennai “Works on Paper”, Faraway Tree Art Gallery, Chennai “Missing Links ll”, Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore “Southern Contemporaries”, Indus Vista Art Gallery, Mumbai “Missing Links”, Gallery Sumukha, Chennai “Major Trends in Contemporary Art” – Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai. He has been honored with the Tamil Nadu State Lalit Kala Akademi award for Painting in 1998 and a Junior Fellowship from the Culture Department, New Delhi, 2022. He is a frequent artist at camps, some of which are ‘Fluid Signs: Perceptions and Identity’, Artist camp, Dakshina Chitra, Chennai, 2006, International Painters Camp from the SAARC Nations, Lalit Kala Akademi, Hyderabad, 2005 and All India Painters’ Camp at CCMB, Hyderabad, 2002. Aparajithan lives and works in Chennai, where he has also been on the faculty of Government College of Fine Arts, Faculty, Dept of Communication, Dr G.R. Damodaran College of Science, Coimbatore. Department of Visual Communication, Madras Christian College and the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Chennai.
Dhwani Shah, is a graphic designer and an illustrator from Mumbai. She did her graduation in applied art from sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art and her post-graduate diploma in the discipline of graphic design from NID, Ahmedabad . She was awarded the first position in the category of visual communication in the battle of design projects at the Pune design festival 2013. Her work experience began with TARA books where Dhwani designed multiple books under the mentorship of Gita Wolf and Geetha.V.
She also worked with Locopopo studio on illustrating, branding, and packaging design projects. Dhwani later laid her hands on branding and packaging design projects in ‘Therefore may’,Pune. Being a speaker, she has delivered a presentation at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok on making books by hand. Adding to her profile, she has delivered a talk titled 'pushing the boundaries of the physical book in an age writing its obituary' at Melbourne. Her area of interest is editorial illustrations, non-fiction graphic narratives, hand lettering etc and she is currently employed as an assistant professor in communication design at DOT school of design.
Navaneetha Krishnan R is an independent art practitioner from Madurai. He is an alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. His major interest is in the exploration of aesthetic expressions of indigenous knowledge systems in the Indian cultural landscape. He is currently working on the tradition of Terracotta horses in Tamil Nadu. He is working towards the possibility of an artistic practice that is a site for both art and research.
Kavitha has completed her Bachelor’s in Architecture in Sathayabama University & went on to pursue her masters in Landscape Architecture. She has her interests in design thinking, exterior spatial design, and Landscape design. She has ranked No 1 in her university also receiving the honorable president award for her academics. Her thesis was shortlisted at the national thesis open day.
Enthusiastic Interior & Furniture designer, I'm All About Experimental design, who Loves to collaborate with excellent minds from different disciplines. Believes in the Design process keeping human behaviour, Nature, and Sustainability at the core. I prefer working on individual pieces and products because I love being able to see how the details work together to create an entirely new look and feel for the space. I finished my undergrad at JBAS, Chennai. & Master in Design Specializing in Interior & Furniture design, LPU, Punjab. where I could Explore my curiosity in Sustainable and Biomimetic design. I was the topper of the batch. Since then, I have collaborated and worked with several Designers and Architects while running my own practice called The East Indian Company. I have a keen interest in mentoring and kindling curiosity in students with what I have learned and to learn a lot more in the process. I Believe in experimental design and the learning process which can enable students to be professional designers when they complete their course.
Sanah is a designer, researcher and expert in the field of sustainable fashion. A gold medalist in Fashion Studies, underpinned her determination to pursue a career in fashion. She graduated from Pearl Academy where she was awarded the Best Academic and Most Innovative Collection. Her cutting technique Planar Flux was incorporated into the syllabus at Iowa State University. She also held a session with their graduate level students. She has also published her research collaborating with Springer Publications in the book ‘Models for Sustainable Framework in Luxury Fashion: Luxury and Models’. Her chapter is called ‘The Sustainable Model’. She has had the good fortune to be mentored by renowned designer and cutter Prof. Julian Roberts of the Royal College of Art (London) and has also engaged in multiple international collaborations. Sanah is also now the official Subtraction Cutting expert for India appointed by Prof.Julian Roberts himself.
A hardworking and self-confident professional with 27 years of work experience. Started my career as a Helper and gained experience as Tailor, Sample Tailor, Line Leader in the Garment Industry and Fashion Design college (Pearl Academy of Fashion) worked as a Lab Assistant, Junior Officer, And Product Specialist (FD) in Dream Zone Chennai Corporate office. Worked as an Assistant Professor (PM & GC subject) at McGan’s Ooty school of Fashion and Design Collage, Ooty.
Mrs Abinaya Ganga comes with an enriched knowledge and Hands - On Experience, of more than 15 years, in Fashion Design. She obtained her Bachelors in Costume Design and Fashion from Bharathiar University - Coimbatore and G-Tech(Garment manufacturing technology)from Bharathiar University Ettayapuram post which she began her career as a Merchandiser in Meenakshi India Ltd. With her flair for teaching and enthusiasm for continuous learning, she adopted her teaching career as a Faculty of Department of Fashion Design, at National College of Design . Following which she worked as a Senior Faculty @ Dreamzone School of Creative Studies, Annanagar. With her proficiency in Pattern Making Construction, Garment Manufacturing Technology, Pattern CAD, Surface Embellishment & Photoshop, she has served as a Designer for brands namely Columbia Sportswear, Ostin & Ashwathy Premium. With her unparalleled insights into the field of Fashion Designing, she has also operated as a Backstage Manager for fashion shows such as Tamil Fashion Show, Vibes 360° Guinness Record & Emerging Fashion Designers Week.
He is former Director - NPD of Advanced Engineering Services for a US company based in Chennai. Overall he has 12+ years of industry experience and also he worked as a guest lecturer in a few colleges like VIT, DJAD & Thazhal etc, He is also the founder and design head of Lemorian Experience Design which is six years old now. He worked in KAALO design experience as a senior industrial designer, He has a few products patented with an MOU with his clients. He has designed and developed the electric bike for Ampere electric vehicles Pvt ltd in Coimbatore. He has also worked for 8 years for e-bike companies. Dinesh handles technical subjects such as plastic based design, techno-scientific principles and CAD and technically complex projects.
She is a passionate artist with a bachelor degree in visual arts specializing primarily in drawing, rendering, visual composition , painting and color harmony. Gaining in depth knowledge in oil,acrylic and watercolor medium Augestina is a Resourceful and imaginative artist and has worked on murals and awareness wall paintings with Eco society India.
"Parveen holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from A.M.S Academy of Architecture, Chennai. He has also completed a hybrid course on computational design, as well as workshops at Makers Asylum and other fabrication labs. He has experience working as a 3D designer in a branding company, where he specialized in augmented reality, virtual reality, and 3D printing models. Additionally, he has experience freelancing on architectural projects, and has even started a company that specializes in the production of idols and gift items utilizing laser-cutting technology. He also has experience working in a furniture manufacturing factory, where he gained knowledge and experience in wood and metal fabrication
Deepika has finished her bachelors in Architecture from National Institute of Technology Trichy and moved on to National Institute of Design Ahmedabad to pursue her masters in furniture and spatial design. She has a background of designing spaces and furniture for various concerns; she is also experienced in design education and has been teaching design for school students, design and Architecture institutions. Her area of interests are in Furniture design, Design research and Design education; currently handling the discipline of Industrial design at DOT school of design alongside with her professional practice.
Deepak Panicker is a Fashion Design graduate from NIFT Chennai (1998-2001). As one of the seven toppers in India he was nominated for scholarship in Nottingham Trend University, UK for higher studies by Ministry of Textiles, Govt of India in 2001. Winner of the Most Creative Designer for his project "Resurgence of the Obsolete' which was based on discarded billboard vinyl, he worked with CLRI (Central Leather Research Institute), Adyar to transform the vinyl into a leather substitute. He was one of the finalist of the Smirnoff International Fashion Awards. An ardent lover of nature and a self-taught artist he joined College of Fine Arts Trivandrum after graduating in economics. He believes in sustainability & recycling and also an advocate of Biomimicry for innovation. As a freelance designer he has worked for international brands like Primark UK & Ireland, Conforama France, Tesco, etc for more than a decade with graphics, styling, prints and textile design concepts. Considered to be one of the best in India in the field, his work for Caines Clerk used to be sold in Surtex Fair, New York. His passion for Couture garments has been expressed through Wedding Dress & Evening Gown customization. He works as a Guest Faculty, Jury Member and Mentor at Nift Chennai inspiring and motivating young talents with his skills in Advanced Draping, Creative Pattern Making, Graphics, Garment Making & Seminars. He has been associated with Thuli (NGO)for designing and production of up-cycled garments for the unprivileged. He also works closely with Nift Core Team on various projects apart from being a consultant to many brands and training college. At present he is working on his brand of natural and sustainable clothing under the brand name of Lefel for women and kids. He is the founder of Mantiz Atelier Design Studio based in Chennai and also one of the directors of Altheas Apparels Pvt Ltd, and working as Creative Head for both.
Keerthana Ramesh obtained her bachelor’s degree in architecture from C.A.R.E School of Architecture, Trichy. She did her internship on Mud Architecture at Auroville. After 8 months of internship, she was inspired to do eco-friendly construction, with minimal intrusion on the land. She is particularly intrigued by the sensitivity of architecture towards nature and people, as well as discovering new aspects that enrich the spatial experience. After graduation, she has worked with Ar. Senthilnathan at Poetics, Bangalore on a Red Soil Nature play project. Working with various forms and building techniques, she has had the opportunity to work with the transgender community on her thesis which focuses on low-cost housing for the socio-economically underprivileged communities. During the lockdown, she discovered her passion for graphic design and pursued a diploma in the field before beginning employment as a graphic designer.
She considers herself to be in the process of refinement and every day as an opportunity to identify herself through her creations.
Karthikeyan Gopinathan is a Product Designer, with a Masters from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Previously a Schmidt-MacArthur Fellow for Circular Economy and BIRAC SIIP fellow in Geriatrics. He has worked with early stage healthcare startups to conceptualise and develop their products and services. He is currently co-creating telemedicine solutions with physiotherapists for their practice.
His interests lie in design-led social innovation with a focus on healthcare and healthy ageing. Some of his work involve building a framework for applying Circular Economy concepts for a medical device at Philips, design of a hearing screener for newborns and service design for an optometry service for rural India.
Subashini has completed her Bachelors in Architecture from Hindusthan College Chennai and completed her Masters in Construction management from NICMER, pune. She has an extensive experience in corporate interior fit out as well as in residential design. Her interests has been in up cycling the constructions materials (epoxy, acc block) into furniture making and mural. Currently she is heading the interior design education at DOT school of design along with her professional practice.
Colors and patterns were something that always intrigued her, which eventually lead her to pursue fashion as a career. After completing her bachelor's degree in fashion from FDDI, Chennai, she began to freelance as a costume stylist. She has worked as a costume stylist for some leading brands and businesses in the country. She has a knack for Fashion Illustrations as well. With this experience, she has started her own clothing label.
R V Purusothaman joined NIFT New Delhi with an All India Rank 1 in the national level design entrance exam, and his award-winning fashion blog Purushu Arie was founded in 2009 while studying fashion design in Delhi. At the young age of 19, he was invited by the Fashion Design Council of India to write official show reviews at India Fashion Week, New Delhi. In 2011, Hindustan Times rated Purushu's blog as the most influential blog in New Delhi. Ever since, Purushu has worked with more than 75 retail and luxury brands as a fashion blogger & consultant. Following a stint as menswear designer at Lee Cooper, Mumbai in 2013, Purushu relocated to Chennai where he continued designing and wrote fashion columns for The Hindu newspaper lifestyle segment “Melange”. In 2017, Purushu Arie founded India's first exclusively ungendered fashion label. Purushu's signature silhouettes are utilitarian reinterpretations of traditional Tamil drapes like lungi, pudavai, vetti, saree, keeladai, meladai etc. Purushu Arie's Tamil-Futurism designs not only patrons Tamil heritage clothing but reworks the inherent gender neutrality of traditional Indian clothing.
Neethu Deepak is an accomplished fashion designer who graduated from NIFT Chennai in 2001. She won the award for ‘Innovative use of Traditional Textiles and Techniques’ for her final project with Kanchipuram Silk and banana fibre. She has represented India for the Indo-German Cultural Exchange program by the Ministry of Textiles and German Consulate and visited Germany in 2000. With 19 years of experience in the industry as a designer she is known for her fine surface detailing (print, embroidery) and unique colour combinations. She has extensive experience in designing and prototyping in various segments like Apparel Design, Corporate Identity Design, Costumes, Graphics, Textile Design, Trend Research and Analysis. A specialist in Women's wear and Kidswear, she has worked with various industries in Chennai, Tirupur, Kannur and Karur. She is passionate about Ethnic Arts & Crafts, Textiles, Sustainable fashion and Innovation. She has worked with leading brands like Eshakti, Maybell India, managing the design team and providing creative direction from concept, design process, range plan, sourcing to prototype development. A Star Alumni and em-panelled Jury Member of Nift Chennai, she handles fashion subjects, internal and external mentoring as a visiting faculty.
With a bachelor’s in Exhibition Design from NID, Ahmedabad, Ms.Kishori has a keen eye for aesthetic communication spaces such as Museums, exhibitions, signages, sets, experiential spaces, etc. Understanding how objects and space interact is one of the most crucial aspects of exhibition design, hence giving her a first-hand experience in understanding the basics of Industrial & Product Design. She has also interned at TATA Elxsi (Pune), Agastya International, an educational institution in Andhra Pradesh. With the hands-on knowledge of developing spatial experiences for visitors, she has also worked with the design studio, Figments from Pune. She believes that design makes our lives more interesting and meaningful. Hence wants to teach her design philosophy to budding designers and has hence taken up a teaching profession at DOT.
